Exploring Fashion & Culture in the most African U.S. City

Author: Noirlinians

Photos by Malcolm Johnson | FEATURED FASHIONS #JuaKali #DOPEciety Jua Kali: Still being founded by artist, pattern enthusiast & patternmaster Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa, Jua Kali is a shapeshifting collection of Kenyan made clothing, jewelry and accessories for people of all genders and gender expressions. It is also one of many entrepreneurial effort to ensure Africans on the continent financially benefit from the recent resurgence of “African & African inspired”, and an effort to train young women in New Orleans in entrepreneurship […]

Photos by Paa Kwesi Yanful (@kwesithethird) This year Noirlinians was invited by #EssenceFest to take over their Instagram account for a weekend to tell (Our) #MyNOLAdiary. We met up for an afternoon with Kwesi, one of our favorite local Ghanian photographers for this shoot with a twist…for once, we got to choose the locations of the shoot*. | We are Noirlinians, and this is #OurNOLAdiary | *in typical Noirlinians shoots/blog posts, local or New Orleans based Black photographers […]

Photos by Dawnie Marie FEATURED FASHIONS – The Bombchel Factory: The Bombchel Factory is an African fashion wonderland that produces ethically made, high quality garments for sale in Monrovia, Liberia that was started by Archel Bernard, a Liberian-American whose parents fled civil unrest in the West African country. Our team of expert tailors and excited trainees can produce much more than we can sell locally, so we have set our sights on the rest of the world. This is […]

Photos by Phrozen Photography Post Soundtrack: Immigrant (Sade) The Treme (St. Augustine Church): The community of Treme can be described as colorful, vibrant, creative, strong, & diverse. Formally known by the French as Faubourg Treme this community is named after Claude Treme the Frenchmen who sold the land to the city of New Orleans so they could build sub divisions and sale plots for housing behind the much crowded French Quarters. Treme was special from the start. […]

Photos by Dawn Jefferson (Dawnie Marie) Post Soundtrack: Control (Janet Jackson) Bunny Bread Factory, New Orleans East: So I’m from the East. Yes, New Orleans East. Literally born & raised in the East. So I’m a legit East Beast. I know its strange, but I am proud of that. I mean I can’t lie and say I’m from Uptown, I’d be found out so quick. I call the East many things: “the land that care forgot” “hood […]

Often, when hearing about New Orleans outside of the city, it’s historic and vibrant music scene is a focal point for folks. Inside of the city though, it’s clear that New Orleans isn’t a city that is just musically talented…its a city that is talented. Period. From visual art, to music, to poetry, to…well…anything that requires creative talent, New Orleans attracts, but more notably, produces undeniable talent that is helping shape the creative history of this generation. Check […]

Photos by Malik Bartholomew (Phrozen Photography) Post Soundtrack: We Are Family The Treme: I selected several sites in Treme and one of the site locations I selected was the underpass of the Claiborne Avenue Bride better known to native New Orleanians as “Under Da Bridge” or “Tha Bridge.” This site is extremely important historically and culturally to Black New Orleanians. Before the construction of the Claiborne Avenue interstate bridge the street Claiborne Avenue was home to the downtown […]

Photos by Taylor DeClue Post Soundtrack: Human (Tank and the Bangas) Rooftop, Downtown New Orleans: Passion has been the word of the year for me . Tensions have risen high this year whether it be from the excess of murders i’ve had to witness to black men and women at the hands of police, the emotions of hate from these coming elections that have made racial tensions even higher and most of all taking a personal […]

Coumba Toure, Senegal/ Mali #NoirliniansStreetStyle from the 2016 Black Feminisms Forum in Salvador, Bahia, Brasil This September, Black feminists from across the world met at the first ever Black Feminisms Forum (BFF) in Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. The BFF “‘was a global movement-building process co-created by Black feminist artists, activists, agitators and creators” that was created in order to provide a space for cross movement exchange and strategizing amongst, and deepens solidarity between, Black feminists around the world”‘. In addition […]

Photos by Kobby Waiyaki | The Skate Park: The skate park is one of the very rare things to find in Kenya .Most people don’t even know if Kenya owns a skate park since it is at an unexpected location. I chose this as my location since I have seen it grow from the very first day when skate aid-a skateboarding organisation based in Germany came to launch that they will be constructing a skate park in Nairobi […]

Photos by Taylor DeClue | Jackson Square/ French Quarter: The French Quarter is one of Louisianas most popular attractions . It is what some would say the heart and soul of New Orleans . There you will find everything from artists to lovers. I chose this particular location because it is close to my heart . Around every corner you will find Spanish architecture similar to that of Latin American countries and musicians filling the background with […]

Photos by Aline Maia Ashé Cultural Arts Center: The Ashé Cultural Arts Center emphasizes the art contributions of people of African descent in New Orleans. Its focus is support programs, activities, and creative works. Because of these and others motives, it has become the stage for this photo shoot. After all, Mwende and Denisio are artists: they have been using body, clothes and thoughts to talk about themselves, and to explore fashion and identity in […]

'Fight the Power' explores the ways in which the Black History is often marginalized/erased, and why it is imperative that we fight to preserve and properly honor these sacred spaces. Featuring photography from visiting doctoral student Aline Maia

Photos by Lou Dorsey (Sci Academy) & Burnell Palmer (KIPP Renaissance) Post Soundtrack: I Am Not My Hair (India Arie) Armstrong Park/Congo Square: Congo square hadn’t even crossed my mind when I was thinking of a place to do this shoot. It was originally going to happen in Armstrong park, but as I was doing research on the park itself, I stumbled upon Congo square. The background and scenery of it amazed me. To live […]

Photos by Lou Dorsey (Sci Academy) & Burnell Palmer (KIPP Renaissance) Post Soundtrack: Back in the Day (Ahmad) Exhibit BE: De Gaulle Manor raised a part of our community and Hurricane Katrina killed this place, left it to rot. But Brandon ‘BMike’ Odums and his team were saviors, never in a million years would I have thought that particular apartment complex would rebirth in such a ingenious way. To see all those painters, photographers, poets, graffiti artists, […]

Visit the PhotoNOLA Noirlinians page for more info In conjunction with PhotoNOLA 2015, the McKenna Museum of African American art presents a photography exhibition in partnership with Noirlinians, an AfroFashion and culture blog run by Kenyan writer Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa and Liberian designer Denisio Truitt of Dopeciety. The exhibition features four photographers from the Noirlinians blog, Danielle Miles, Asia Vinae Palmer, LaToya ‘Blaze Like Fyre’ Edwards and Patrick Melon, of New Orleans based fashion blog Noirlinians, […]

Photos by Gus Bennett Makeup by Phoenix of Karmen Cosmetics Post Soundtrack: Mama Africa by Peter Tosh Gus: My studio is my sanctuary. It’s where I am most comfortable creating. Before opening my space, I had everything removed from the building. The space was blessed and I played classical and ambient music for about one month before actively photographing anyone or anything. I wanted the vibe to be that of peace and solitude. I wanted my subject to forget the outside […]

Photos by Blaze Like Fyre Post Soundtrack – No Church in the Wild (Jay Z+Kanye West+Frank Ocean) City Park (Botanical Gardens): When picking the location for this shoot, I thought about how to make the indigo pop. I knew that anywhere that we shot would have to have a colorful backdrop. Though this wall is not hyper-colorful, the muted orange hue accomplished the splash of color necessary to complement the indigo fabric. City Park was the location […]